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vi Contents
4 Numerical Integration and Differentiation 107

4.1 Introduction 107
4.2 Basic Quadrature Rules 107
4.3 Composite Quadrature Rules 115
4.4 Romberg Integration 124
4.5 Gaussian Quadrature 132
4.6 Adaptive Quadrature 138
4.7 Multiple Integrals 145
4.8 Improper Integrals 157
4.9 Numerical Differentiation 163
4.10 Survey of Methods and Software 172
5 Numerical Solution of Initial-Value Problems 173

5.2 Taylor Methods 174
5.3 Runge-Kutta Methods 183
5.4 Predictor-Corrector Methods 191
5.5 Extrapolation Methods 198
5.6 Adaptive Techniques 204
5.7 Methods for Systems of Equations 214
5.8 Stiff Differential Equations 222
6 Direct Methods for Solving Linear Systems 229

6.2 Gaussian Elimination 229
6.3 Pivoting Strategies 240
6.4 Linear Algebra and Matrix Inversion 247
6.5 Matrix Factorization 260
6.6 Techniques for Special Matrices 266
7 Iterative Methods for Solving Linear Systems 277

7.2 Convergence of Vectors 277
7.3 Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors 285
7.4 The Jacobi and Gauss-Seidel Methods 292
7.5 The SOR Method 298
7.6 Error Bounds and Iterative Refinement 302
7.7 The Conjugate Gradient Method 309
Copyright 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has
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Contents vii
8 Approximation Theory 321

8.2 Discrete Least Squares Approximation 321
8.3 Continuous Least Squares Approximation 329
8.4 Chebyshev Polynomials 338
8.5 Rational Function Approximation 344
8.6 Trigonometric Polynomial Approximation 349
8.7 Fast Fourier Transforms 355
9 Approximating Eigenvalues 363

9.2 Linear Algebra and Eigenvalues 363
9.3 The Power Method 373
9.4 Householder’s Method 385
9.5 The QR Method 390
9.6 Singular Value Decomposition 399
10 Systems of Nonlinear Equations 413

10.2 Newton’s Method for Systems 416
10.3 Quasi-Newton Methods 421
10.4 The Steepest Descent Method 427
10.5 Homotopy and Continuation Methods 432
11 Boundary-Value Problems for Ordinary

Differential Equations 441
11.2 The Linear Shooting Method 441
11.3 Linear Finite Difference Methods 446
11.4 The Nonlinear Shooting Method 452
11.5 Nonlinear Finite-Difference Methods 458
11.6 Variational Techniques 461
viii Contents
12 Numerical Methods for Partial-Differential

Equations 475
12.2 Finite-Difference Methods for Elliptic Problems 475
12.3 Finite-Difference Methods for Parabolic Problems 483
12.4 Finite-Difference Methods for Hyperbolic Problems 497
12.5 Introduction to the Finite-Element Method 503
Bibliography 519
Answers to Odd Exercises 525
Index 585
Preface
About the Text

The teaching of numerical approximation techniques to undergraduates is done in a variety
of ways. The traditional Numerical Analysis course discusses approximation methods,
and provides mathematical justification for those methods. A Numerical Methods course
emphasizes the choice and application of techniques to solve problems in engineering and
the physical sciences over the derivation of the methods.
The books used in Numerical Methods courses differ widely in both intent and content.
Sometimes a book written for Numerical Analysis is adapted for a Numerical Methods
course by deleting the more theoretical topics and derivations. The advantage of this ap-
proach is that the leading Numerical Analysis books are mature; they have been through
a number of editions, and they have a wealth of proven examples and exercises. They are
also written for a full year’s coverage of the subject, so they have methods that can be
used for reference even when there is not sufficient time for discussing them in the course.
The weakness of using a Numerical Analysis book for a Numerical Methods course is that
material will need to be omitted, and students can have difficulty distinguishing what is
important from what is tangential.
The second type of book used for a Numerical Methods course is one that is specifically
written for a service course. These books follow the established line of service-oriented
mathematics books, similar to the technical calculus books written for students in business
and the life sciences, and the statistics books designed for students in economics, psychology,
and business. However, the engineering and science students for whom the Numerical
Methods course is designed have a much stronger mathematical background than students
in other disciplines. They are quite capable of mastering the material in a Numerical Analysis
course, but they do not have the time for—nor the interest in—the theoretical aspects of such
a course. What they need is a sophisticated introduction to the approximation techniques
used to solve the problems that arise in science and engineering. They also need to know why
the methods work, what type of errors to expect, and when a method might lead to difficulties.
Finally, they need information, with recommendations, regarding the availability of high-
quality software for numerical approximation routines. In such a course the mathematical
analysis is reduced due to a lack of time, not because of the mathematical abilities of the
students.
The emphasis in this edition of Numerical Methods is on the intelligent application
of approximation techniques to the type of problems that commonly occur in engineering
and the physical sciences. The book is designed for a one-semester course, but contains
at least 50% more material than is likely to be covered, so instructors have flexibility in
topic coverage, and students have a reference for future work. The techniques covered are
essentially the same as those included in our book designed for the Numerical Analysis
course (See Numerical Analysis, 9e). However, the emphasis in the two books is quite
ix
x Preface
different. In Numerical Analysis, a book with more than 800 text pages, each technique is
given a mathematical justification before the implementation of the method is discussed.
If some portion of the justification is beyond the mathematical level of the book, then it is
referenced, but the book is, for the most part, mathematically self-contained.
In Numerical Methods, each technique is motivated and described from an implemen-
tation standpoint. The aim of the motivation is to convince the student that the method
is reasonable both mathematically and computationally. A full mathematical justification
is included only if it is concise and adds to the understanding of the method.
A number of software packages are available to produce symbolic and numerical
computations. Predominant among the items for sale are MapleR , MathematicaR , and
MATLABR . In addition, Sage, a free open-source mathematical system licensed under
the GNU Public License, can be very useful for a student of numerical techniques. Sage
connects either locally to your own Sage installation or to a Sage server on the network.
Information about this system can be found at http://www.sagemath.org.
There are several versions of the software packages for most common computer sys-
tems, and student versions are generally available. Although the packages differ in philoso-
phy, packaging, and price, they all can be used to obtain accurate numerical approximations.
So, having a package available can be very useful in the study of approximation techniques.
The results in most of our examples and exercises have been generated using problems for
which exact values can be determined because this permits the performance of the approx-
imation method to be monitored. Exact solutions can often be obtained quite easily using
the packages that perform symbolic computation.
In past editions we have used Maple as our standard package. In this edition we have
changed to MATLAB because this is the software most frequently used by schools of
engineering, where the course is now frequently being taught. We have added MATLAB
examples and exercises, complete with M-files, whenever we felt that this system would
be beneficial, and have discussed the approximation methods that MATLAB provides for
applying a numerical technique.
Software is included with and is an integral part of this edition of Numerical Methods.
Our website includes programs for each method discussed in C, FORTRAN, and Pascal, and
a worksheet in Maple, Mathematica, and MATLAB. There are also Java applets for each
of the programs. Previous exposure to one of these systems is valuable but not essential.
The programs permit students to generate all the results that are included in the examples
and to modify the programs to generate solutions to problems of their choice. The intent of
the software is to provide students with programs that will solve most of the problems that
they are likely to encounter in their studies.
Occasionally, exercises in the text contain problems for which the programs do not give
satisfactory solutions. These are included to illustrate the difficulties that can arise in the
application of approximation techniques and to show the need for the flexibility provided by
the standard general purpose software packages that are available for scientific computation.
Information about the standard general purpose software packages is discussed in the text.
Included are those in packages distributed by netlib, the International Mathematical and
Statistical Library (IMSL), the National Algorithms Group (NAG), and the specialized
techniques in EISPACK and LINPACK.
New for this Edition

We have substantially rewritten the fourth edition due to our decision to use MATLAB as
our basic system for generating results. MATLAB is a collection of professional programs
that can be used to solve many problems, including most problems requiring numerical
Preface xi
techniques. In fact, MATLAB is the software package that most engineers and scientists
will use in their professional careers. However, we do not find it as convenient to use for a
teaching tool as Maple and Mathematica. In past editions, and in our Numerical Analysis
book, we have used Maple to illustrate the steps in our numerical techniques because this
system generally follows our algorithm structure very closely. Abandoning this system
meant that we had to expand our discussion in many instances to ensure that students would
follow all the required steps of the techniques we discuss.
In summary, this edition introduces the student to the techniques required for numerical
approximation, describes how the professional software available in MATLAB approaches
the solution to problems, and gives expanded details in the Examples and Illustrations that
accompany the methods. MATLAB code is illustrated as it appears in that system wherever
it is relevant, and the output that MATLAB provides is clearly documented in a condensed
MATLAB style. Students who have read the material have had no difficulty implementing
the procedures and generating our results.
In addition to the incorporation of MATLAB material, some of the most noticeable
changes for the fourth edition are:
• Our treatment of Numerical Linear Algebra has been extensively expanded. We have
added a section on the singular value decomposition at the end of Chapter 9. This
required a complete rewrite and considerable expansion of the early part of this chapter
to include more material on symmetric and orthogonal matrices. The chapter is approx-
imately 40% longer than in the previous edition, and contains many new examples and
exercises.
• All the Examples in the book have been rewritten to better emphasize the problem being
solved before the solution is given. Additions have been made to the Examples to include
the computations required for the first steps of iteration processes so that students can
better follow the details of the techniques.
• New Illustrations have been added where appropriate to discuss a specific application of
a method that is not suitable for the problem statement-solution format that the Examples
now assume.
• A number of sections have been expanded, and some divided, to make it easier for instruc-
tors to assign problems immediately after the material is presented. This is particularly
true in Chapter 9.
• Numerous new historical notes have been added, primarily in the margins where they
can be considered independent of the text material. Much of the current material used
in Numerical Methods was developed in middle of the 20th century. Students should be
aware of this, and realize that this is an area of current interest.
• The bibliographic material has been updated to reflect new editions of books that we
reference. New sources have been added that were not previously available.
As always with our revisions, every sentence was examined to determine if it was phrased
in a manner that best relates what we are trying to describe.
We have also updated all the programming code to the latest releases that were available
for each of the programming systems, and we will post updated versions of the Maple,
Mathematica, and MATLAB at the book’s website:
http://www.math.ysu.edu/∼faires/Numerical-Methods
xii Preface
Supplements
Student Study Guide
A Student Study Guide is available with this edition and contains worked-out solutions to
many of the problems. The first two chapters of this Guide are available on the website for
the book in PDF format so that prospective users can tell if they find it sufficiently useful
to justify the purchase of the Guide. The authors do not have the remaining Guide material
for the remaining chapters available in this format, however. These can only be obtained
from the publisher at www.cengagebrain.com.
Instructor’s Manual
The publisher can provide instructors with an Instructor’s Manual that provides answers
and solutions to all the exercises in the book. Computation results in the Instructor’s Manual
were regenerated for this edition using the programs on the website to ensure compatibility
among the various programming systems.
SolutionBuilder
This online instructor database offers complete solutions to all exercises in the text, allowing
you to create customized, secure solutions printouts (in PDF format) matched exactly to
the problems you assign in class. Sign up for access at www.cengage.com/SolutionBuilder.
Presentation Material
We are particularly excited about a set of classroom lecture slides prepared by Professor
John Carroll of Dublin City University, which are designed to accompany the presentations
in the book. These slides present examples, hints, and step-by-step animations of important
techniques in Numerical Methods. They are available on the website for the book:
http://www.math.ysu.edu/∼faires/Numerical-Methods
The slides were created using the Beamer package of LaTeX, and are in PDF format.
Possible Course Suggestions

Numerical Methods is designed to allow instructors flexibility in the choice of topics, as
well as in the level of theoretical rigor and in the emphasis on applications. In line with these
aims, we provide references for many of the results that are not demonstrated in the text
and for the applications that are used to indicate the practical importance of the methods.
The text references cited are those most likely to be available in college libraries and have
been updated to reflect recent editions. All referenced material has been indexed to the
appropriate locations in the text, and Library of Congress call information for reference
material has been included to permit easy location if searching for library material.
The following flowchart indicates chapter prerequisites. Most of the possible sequences
that can be generated from this chart have been taught by the authors at Youngstown State
University.
The additional material in this edition should permit instructors to prepare an under-
graduate course in Numerical Linear Algebra for students who have not previously studied
Numerical Methods or Numerical Analysis. This could be done by covering Chapters 1, 6,
7, and 9.
Preface xiii
Chapter 1
Chapter 2 Chapter 6 Chapter 3
Chapter 10 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 4 Chapter 5
Chapter 9
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Acknowledgments
We have been fortunate to have had many of our students and colleagues give us their
impressions of earlier editions of this book, and those of our other book, Numerical Analysis.
We very much appreciate this effort and take all of these comments and suggestions very
seriously. We have tried to include all the suggestions that complement the philosophy of
the book, and are extremely grateful to all those who have taken the time to contact us about
ways to improve subsequent versions.
We would particularly like to thank the following, whose suggestions we have used in
this and previous editions.
• John Carroll–Dublin City University

• Willian Duncan–Louisiana State University
• Saroj Kumar Sahani–Birla Institute of Techonology & Science
• Misha Shvartsman–St. Thomas University
• Dale Smith–Bridgewater State University
• Dennis Smolarski–Santa Clara University
• Emel Yavuz–Istanbul Kultur University
In addition, we would like to thank the faculty of the Department of Mathematics at

Youngstown State University for being so supportive of our work over the years. Even
though we have now been retired for the better part of a decade, we are still treated as
regular colleagues, albeit without the onus of committee work. Finally, we would like to
thank our two student assistants, Jena Baun and Ashley Bowers, who did excellent work
with much of the tedious details of manuscript presentation. They admirably followed in
the footsteps of so many excellent students we have had the pleasure to work with over the
years.
CHAPTER
1 Mathematical Preliminaries
and Error Analysis
1.1 Introduction
This book examines problems that can be solved by methods of approximation, techniques
called numerical methods. We begin by considering some of the mathematical and com-
putational topics that arise when approximating a solution to a problem. Nearly all the
problems whose solutions can be approximated involve continuous functions, so calculus
is the principal tool to use for deriving numerical methods and verifying that they solve the
problems. The calculus definitions and results included in the next section provide a handy
reference when these concepts are needed later in the book.
There are two things to consider when applying a numerical technique. The first and
most obvious is to obtain the approximation. The equally important second objective is
to determine a safety factor for the approximation: some assurance, or at least a sense, of
the accuracy of the approximation. Sections 1.3 and 1.4 deal with a standard difficulty that
occurs when applying techniques to approximate the solution to a problem:
• Where and why is computational error produced and how can it be controlled?
The final section in this chapter describes various types and sources of mathematical software
for implementing numerical methods.
1.2 Review of Calculus

Limits and Continuity
The limit of a function at a specific number tells, in essence, what the function values
approach as the numbers in the domain approach the specific number. The limit concept is
basic to calculus, and the major developments of calculus were discovered in the latter part
of the seventeenth century, primarily by Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibnitz. However, it
was not until 200 years later that Augustus Cauchy, based on work of Karl Weierstrass, first
expressed the limit concept in the form we now use.
We say that a function f defined on a set X of real numbers has the limit L at x0 , written
limx→x0 f (x) = L, if, given any real number ε > 0, there exists a real number δ > 0 such
that | f (x) − L| < ε whenever 0 < |x − x0 | < δ. This definition ensures that values of the
function will be close to L whenever x is sufficiently close to x0 . (See Figure 1.1.)
1
2 CHAPTER 1 Mathematical Preliminaries and Error Analysis
Figure 1.1
y
y f (x)
L⑀
L
L⑀
x0 ␦ x0 x0 ␦ x
A function is said to be continuous at a number in its domain when the limit at the
number agrees with the value of the function at the number. So a function f is continuous
at x0 if limx→x0 f (x) = f (x0 ).
A function f is continuous on the set X if it is continuous at each number in X . We
use C(X ) to denote the set of all functions that are continuous on X . When X is an interval
of the real line, the parentheses in this notation are omitted. For example, the set of all
functions that are continuous on the closed interval [a, b] is denoted C[a, b].
The limit of a sequence of real or complex numbers is defined in a similar manner. An
infinite sequence {xn }∞
n=1 converges to a number x if, given any ε > 0, there exists a positive
integer N (ε) such that |x n − x| < ε whenever n > N (ε). The notation limn→∞ xn = x, or
xn → x as n → ∞, means that the sequence {xn }∞ n=1 converges to x.
Continuity and Sequence Convergence

If f is a function defined on a set X of real numbers and x0 ∈ X , then the following are
equivalent:
a. f is continuous at x0 .
b. If {xn }∞
n=1 is any sequence in X converging to x 0 , then
lim f (xn ) = f (x0 ).

n→∞
All the functions we consider when discussing numerical methods are continuous
because this is a minimal requirement for predictable behavior. Functions that are not
continuous can skip over points of interest, which can cause difficulties when we attempt
to approximate a solution to a problem.
More sophisticated assumptions about a function generally lead to better approxima-
tion results. For example, a function with a smooth graph would normally behave more
predictably than would one with numerous jagged features. Smoothness relies on the con-
cept of the derivative.
1.2 Review of Calculus 3
Differentiability
If f is a function defined in an open interval containing x0 , then f is differentiable at x 0
when
f (x) − f (x0 )
f (x0 ) = lim
x→x0 x − x0
exists. The number f (x0 ) is called the derivative of f at x0 . The derivative of f at x0 is

the slope of the tangent line to the graph of f at (x0 , f (x0 )), as shown in Figure 1.2.
Figure 1.2
y
The tangent line has slope f (x0)
f (x 0)
(x 0, f (x 0)) y f (x)
x0 x
A function that has a derivative at each number in a set X is differentiable on X .

Differentiability is a stronger condition on a function than continuity in the following
sense.
Differentiability Implies Continuity

If the function f is differentiable at x0 , then f is continuous at x0 .
The set of all functions that have n continuous derivatives on X is denoted C n (X ), and
the set of functions that have derivatives of all orders on X is denoted C ∞ (X ). Polynomial,
rational, trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic functions are in C ∞ (X ), where X
consists of all numbers at which the function is defined.
The next results are of fundamental importance in deriving methods for error estimation.
The proofs of most of these can be found in any standard calculus text.
Mean Value Theorem

If f ∈ C[a, b] and f is differentiable on (a, b), then a number c in (a, b) exists such
that (see Figure 1.3)
f (b) − f (a)
f (c) = .
b−a
Figure 1.3
y
Parallel lines
Slope f (c)
y f (x)
f (b) f (a)
Slope
ba
a c b x
The following result is frequently used to determine bounds for error formulas.
Extreme Value Theorem

If f ∈ C[a, b], then c1 and c2 in [a, b] exist with f (c1 ) ≤ f (x) ≤ f (c2 ) for all x in
[a, b]. If, in addition, f is differentiable on (a, b), then the numbers c1 and c2 occur
either at endpoints of [a, b] or where f is zero.
The values where a continuous function has its derivative 0 or where the derivative does
not exist are called critical points of the function. So the Extreme Value Theorem states
that a maximum or minimum value of a continuously differentiable function on a closed
interval can occur only at the critical points or the endpoints.
Our first example gives some illustrations of applications of the Extreme Value Theorem
and MATLAB.
Example 1 Use MATLAB to find the absolute minimum and absolute maximum values of
f (x) = 5 cos 2x − 2x sin 2x
on the intervals (a) [1, 2], and (b) [0.5, 1].

Solution The solution to this problem is one that is commonly needed in calculus. It
provides a good example for illustrating some commonly used commands in MATLAB
and the response to the commands that MATLAB gives. In our presentations of MATLAB
material, input statements appear left-justified using a typewriter-like font. To add
emphasis to the responses from MATLAB, these appear centered and in cyan type.
For better readability, we will delete the symbols needed for input statements as
well as the blank lines from MATLAB responses. Other than these changes, the statements
will agree with that of MATLAB.
The following command defines f (x) = 5 cos 2x − 2x sin 2x as a function of x.
f = inline(’5*cos(2*x)-2*x*sin(2*x)’,’x’)
and MATLAB responds with (actually, the response is on two separate lines, but we will
compress the MATLAB responses, here and throughout)
Inline function: f (x) = 5 ∗ cos(2 ∗ x) − 2 ∗ x ∗ sin(2 ∗ x)
We have now defined our base function f (x). The x in the command indicates that x is the
argument of the function f .
To find the absolute minimum and maximum values of f (x) on the given intervals, we
also need its derivative f (x), which is
f (x) = −12 sin 2x − 4x cos 2x.
Then we define the function f p(x) ≡ f (x) in MATLAB to represent the derivative with
the inline command
fp = inline(’-12*sin(2*x)-4*x*cos(2*x)’,’x’)
By default, MATLAB displays only a five-digit result, as illustrated by the following com-
mand which computes f (0.5):
f(0.5)
The result from MATLAB is
ans = 1.8600
We can increase the number of digits of display with the command
format long
Then the command
f(0.5)
produces
ans = 1.860040544532602
We will use this extended precision version of MATLAB output in the remainder of the
text.
(a) The absolute minimum and maximum of the continuously differentiable function f
occur only at the endpoints of the interval [1, 2] or at a critical point within this interval.
We obtain the values at the endpoints with
f(1),f(2)
and MATLAB responds with
ans = −3.899329036387075, ans = −0.241008123086347
To determine critical points of the function f , we need to find zeros of f (x). For this we
use the fzero command in MATLAB:
p =fzero(fp,[1,2])
and MATLAB responds with
p = 1.358229873843064
Evaluating f at this single critical point with
f(p)
gives
ans = −5.675301337592883
In summary, the absolute minimum and absolute maximum values of f (x) on the interval
[1, 2] are approximately
f (1.358229873843064) = −5.675301337592883 and f (2) = −0.241008123086347.
(b) When the interval is [0.5, 1] we have the values at the endpoints given by
f (0.5) = 5 cos 1 − 1 sin 1 = 1.860040544532602 and

f (1) = 5 cos 2 − 2 sin 2 = −3.899329036387075.
However, when we attempt to determine critical points in the interval [0.5, 1] with the
command
p1 = fzero(fp,[0.5 1])
MATLAB returns the response
??? Error using ==> fzero at 293
This indicates that MATLAB could not find a solution to this equation, which is the correct
response because f is strictly decreasing on [0.5, 1] and no solution exists. Hence the
approximate absolute minimum and absolute maximum values on the interval [0.5, 1] are
f (1) = −3.899329036387075 and f (0.5) = 1.860040544532602.
The following five commands plot the function on the interval [0.5, 2] with titles for
the graph and axes on a grid.
fplot(f,[0.5 2])
title(’Plot of f(x)’)
xlabel(’Values of x’)
ylabel(’Values of f(x)’)
grid
Figure 1.4 shows the screen that results from these commands. They confirm the results
we obtained in Example 1. The graph is displayed in a window that can be saved in a variety
of forms for use in technical presentations.
Figure 1.4
Plot of f(x)
2
Values of f(x)
1
2
3
4
5
6
0.5 1 1.5 2
Values of x
The next result is the Intermediate Value Theorem. Although its statement is not diffi-
cult, the proof is beyond the scope of the usual calculus course.
Intermediate Value Theorem

If f ∈ C[a, b] and K is any number between f (a) and f (b), then there exists a number
c in (a, b) for which f (c) = K . (Figure 1.5 shows one of the three possibilities for this
function and interval.)
Figure 1.5
y
(a, f (a))
f (a)
y f (x)
K
f (b)
(b, f (b))
a c b x
Example 2 Show that x 5 − 2x 3 + 3x 2 − 1 = 0 has a solution in the interval [0, 1].

Solution Consider the function defined by f (x) = x 5 − 2x 3 + 3x 2 − 1. The function f is
continuous on [0, 1]. In addition,
f (0) = −1 < 0 and 0 < 1 = f (1).
The Intermediate Value Theorem implies that a number x exists in (0, 1) with x 5 − 2x 3 +
3x 2 − 1 = 0.
As seen in Example 2, the Intermediate Value Theorem is used to help determine when
solutions to certain problems exist. It does not, however, give an efficient means for finding
these solutions. This topic is considered in Chapter 2.
Integration
The integral is the other basic concept of calculus. The Riemann integral of the function
f on the interval [a, b] is the following limit, provided it exists:
b n
f (x) d x = lim f (z i ) xi ,
a max xi →0
i=1
where the numbers x0 , x1 , . . . , xn satisfy a = x0 < x1 < · · · < xn = b and where

xi = xi − xi−1 , for each i = 1, 2, . . . , n, and z i is arbitrarily chosen in the interval
[xi−1 , xi ].
A function f that is continuous on an interval [a, b] is also Riemann integrable on
[a, b]. This permits us to choose, for computational convenience, the points xi to be equally
spaced in [a, b] and for each i = 1, 2, . . . , n, to choose z i = xi . In this case,
b
b−a
n
f (x) d x = lim f (xi ),
a n→∞ n i=1
where the numbers shown in Figure 1.6 as xi are xi = a + (i(b − a)/n).
Figure 1.6
y
y f (x)
a x0 x1 x2 . . . x i1 x i ... x n1 b x n x
Two more basic results are needed in our study of numerical methods. The first is a
generalization of the usual Mean Value Theorem for Integrals.
Mean Value Theorem for Integrals

If f ∈ C[a, b], g is integrable on [a, b], and g(x) does not change sign on [a, b], then
there exists a number c in (a, b) with
b b
f (x)g(x) d x = f (c) g(x) d x.
a a
When g(x) ≡ 1, this result reduces to the usual Mean Value Theorem for Integrals. It
gives the average value of the function f over the interval [a, b] as

1 b
f (c) = f (x) d x.
b−a a
(See Figure 1.7.)
Figure 1.7
y
y f (x)
f (c)
a c b x
Taylor Polynomials and Series

The final result in this review from calculus describes the development of the Taylor polyno-
mials. The importance of the Taylor polynomials to the study of numerical analysis cannot
be overemphasized, and the following result is used repeatedly.
Taylor’s Theorem
Suppose f ∈ C n [a, b] and f (n+1) exists on [a, b]. Let x0 be a number in [a, b]. For
every x in [a, b], there exists a number ξ(x) between x0 and x with
f (x) = Pn (x) + Rn (x),
where
f (x0 ) f (n) (x0 )
Pn (x) = f (x0 ) + f (x0 )(x − x0 ) + (x − x0 )2 + · · · + (x − x0 )n
2! n!
n
f (k) (x0 )
= (x − x0 )k
k=0
k!
and
f (n+1) (ξ(x))
Rn (x) = (x − x0 )n+1 .
(n + 1)!
Here Pn (x) is called the nth Taylor polynomial for f about x0 , and Rn (x) is called
the truncation error (or remainder term) associated with Pn (x). The number ξ(x) in the
truncation error Rn (x) depends on the value of x at which the polynomial Pn (x) is being
evaluated, so it is actually a function of the variable x. However, we should not expect to
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Adequate study demands not simply that an abundance of data
which bear on the problem be secured, but that the validity of the
data be brought into question. Children ought not to accept blindly
the statements of books or even of the teacher. The one thing which
characterizes the student is his search for truth, his attitude of inquiry
as opposed to an appeal to authority. It is well for children at times to
question the statements found in their books when experience
suggests the doubt. It is equally important, of course, that they be
willing to acknowledge their mistake, should proof be forthcoming in
support of the book. If a child really studies, he must, even as an
adult, find statements of fact, the records of observations or
experiments, which are at variance with the evidence which he
already possesses. It is just in this particular that the student differs
from ordinary men who allow others to do their thinking for them. The
student may not be able to settle the question, and so forms a
judgment which is frankly tentative. Children ought to have the
experience of finding that there are some questions to which a
definite answer cannot, in the present state of knowledge, be given.
They should be shown, wherever possible, how the conclusions of
men on some of the most important problems that have been studied
have changed from time to time. They can at times be made to
realize the folly of overhasty generalization.
No one has learned how to study who has not been trained to
reflect upon his experience, whether the experience has been
recently acquired with the express purpose of solving his problem, or
is some more remote element in experience which may shed light on
the question in hand. A skillful teacher can guide in this process of
reflection, and will later tell them what is meant, and demonstrate for
them something of the value of the practice. It is quite worth while for
a student to know when he has concentrated his attention upon a
problem, and just what is meant by reflection. Many older people
deceive themselves into thinking that they are exercising themselves
in these directions when a slight acquaintance with the elements
involved in fixing attention or in reflection might awaken them to the
futility of their practices. There need be nothing occult or hard to
understand about the practice of study. It is not a matter of
terminology nor of a systematic course in psychology, but rather
consists in guiding the individual in his practice of the art, and then
making known to him the elements in his experience which have
meant success or failure. It may be enlightening to compare the
emphasis upon careful examination of data, the formation of
tentative rather than fixed judgments, the guarding against hasty
generalizations, and the emphasis upon reflection with the steps of
presentation, of comparison and abstraction, and of generalization in
the inductive lesson, and with the corresponding steps of the
deductive lesson. The conviction will probably be deepened that
when the teacher instructs the student in the art of study she is
making available for him the method which she employs in
instruction. This must be the relationship; for the teacher can do
nothing more than take account of the way the child learns, and
adapt her method to his possibilities.
The habit of verification is one of the most important from the point
of view of learning how to study. The questions which the student
must constantly ask himself are: “Can the conclusions be applied?”
“Do they always hold?” “Does it work?” Fine-spun theories are of
little avail, however much satisfaction the originator of them may
have found in deriving them. At every step in the progress of his
thought the conclusions must be tested by an appeal to known facts.
The teacher cannot too frequently insist upon this step as the
criterion of the worth of the thinking which has been done. And the
insistence will be necessary, for it seems natural for human beings to
become so enamored of their theories that they hesitate to expose
them to the test which may prove them false.
Teaching children to memorize: Throughout the school life of the
child, memorizing is a regular part of his work. If practice alone were
necessary, every child should soon learn how to do this kind of work
in the most economical manner. The great difficulty is that often
neither teacher nor pupil has given any thought to the method
employed, their attention having been wholly engrossed with
success or failure in achieving the result. It is a well established
principle of psychology that the possibility of recall is conditioned by
the system of ideas with which that which we wish to recall has been
identified. The more associations made, or the more perfect our
control of any system of ideas which involves that which we wish to
remember, the greater the probability of bringing to mind the fact
when we need it. As Professor James puts it: “Of two men with the
same outward experience, the one who thinks over his experiences
most, and weaves them into the most systematic relations with each
other, will be the one with the best memory.” And along with this fact
is another equally important for the teacher: that we may not hope to
increase the native power of retentiveness. The child whom we
teach may be endowed by nature with little or much power of this
sort, and we cannot change it; but we can improve his method of
memorizing.
The first step in memorizing is to understand. If we try to commit to
memory the words of a book when we do not fully comprehend the
meaning, we are depending very largely on our desultory memory,
i.e. upon our ability to remember the things because they have been
once present in mind; and our efficiency will depend wholly upon our
quality of native retentiveness. But, unfortunately, for want of
knowledge of a better method, children are frequently satisfied that
they are doing adequate work when they are repeating over and
over again the words which they have made little attempt to
comprehend.
Even when the sense of the words to be memorized is fairly clear,
it is uneconomical to employ this method of accretion. The child who
studies the poem by saying first the first line, then the second, then
the first and second, then the third, then the first, the second, and the
third, depends upon mere repetition, not upon thinking, for the
persistence of the impression. It has been demonstrated that on the
basis of the amount of time required this method is uneconomical.
Add to this the fact that after the first complete repetition, later
successful recall depends upon the efficiency of the system of
associated ideas which have been established; and there can be no
doubt of the folly of such a method of procedure. It is no wonder that
children who commit to memory in this way forget so readily. They
may have understood what they said when they first repeated the
poem; but the method they employed almost precludes the building
up of a system of associated ideas on the basis of careful thinking.
If the child has read aloud and understands the selection to be
memorized, the next thing to be done is to analyze it into its principal
thought units; and then each of these large units of thought may be
again carefully scrutinized until a full appreciation of the thought has
been accomplished. The thought of the whole may then be stated,
using as far as possible the words of the author, and then each of
the subdivisions or thought units may be examined in more detail in
order to get the shade of meaning that is brought out by this or that
word, by relationship of coördination or subordination of clause, or
the modification indicated by this word or phrase. It will be
necessary, as the work progresses on the large thought units into
which the selection has been divided, to return constantly to the
whole thought in order to keep clear the relationship of the part to the
whole, and to establish the part in the system of ideas which we
seek to build up. “All the evidence we have goes to show that the
method of memorizing by wholes is most economical.”[12] If children
were taught to work in this way, there would be little drudgery about
memorizing. The careful, thoughtful study once completed,
memorization has been accomplished. The energy and attention of
the child have not been centered upon a merely technical process,
but he has been concerned mainly in trying to appreciate fully the
thought that he is to make his own. Memory work of this kind is
highly educative, not merely because of the product, but also
because of the process employed. Suppose, for example, you wish
children to memorize Stevenson’s Bed in Summer:—
In winter I get up at night

And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.
I have to go to bed and see

The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people’s feet
Still going past me in the street.
And does it not seem hard to you,

When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?
You would begin by reading the whole poem, calling to mind the
experiences of the children in going to bed before dark on the long
summer evenings and of the cold, dark winter mornings when they
may have dressed before it was light. The number and the kind of
explanations which will need to be made will, of course, depend
upon the previous experience of the children and the time of the
year. Then the poem might be read again a time or two. After this
preliminary work has been done, you might ask some one to tell you
the story. Let us suppose that the reply was about as follows: “A little
boy had to get up before it was light in the winter, and go to bed
before it was dark in the summer. In summer when he went to bed
he heard the birds hopping on the trees and the people walking past
him in the street. He thought it was hard to have to go to bed when it
was still daylight, when he wanted so much to play.” If the main facts
were less well told, or if there were notable omissions, it would be
necessary to get at least an outline of the main thought before
proceeding. Now we are ready to call the attention of the children to
three main thoughts, each told in a stanza. First, the difference
between getting up in winter and going to bed in summer. Second,
what did the boy in the story see and hear when he went to bed
before dark? Third, how do you feel when you have to go to bed in
summer while the sky is still so clear and blue, and you would like so
much to play?
It will be very easy to get the thought of the first stanza impressed
in the words of the author. It will help to read the whole poem again,
the teacher meanwhile asking the children to pay particular attention
to the way the author says it. Possibly there will be some difficulty
with “quite the other way,” but skillful questioning will get the correct
form. And so for the second and third stanzas; if the thought is clear,
the words will follow very easily. After each thought has been thus
carefully developed, with the whole story always in mind, and the
words of the author have been made the vehicle of expressing the
thought by the children, it will be advantageous to have the poem
repeated several times by individual members of the class. In this
repetition the dramatic element should enter as far as possible. To
suit the action to the word, to really feel what one recites, helps
greatly to strengthen the impression, and thus aids recall.
It may be thought that the illustration used was particularly well
adapted to illustrate the theory advanced. Or some teacher may say
that children would memorize Bed in Summer without teaching. It
may, therefore, not be out of place to suggest that the best way to
discover for one’s self the value of the method is to try it. It will work
equally well if the subject is Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, a
selection from the Declaration of Independence, the Twenty-third
Psalm, or any other masterpiece of English.
The principles to be applied are essentially the same even when
verbatim memorization is not required. To get lasting control of the
facts of geography or of history, one must have reduced them to a
system. There must be a relating of less important facts to more
important, a clustering of important points of reference to any other
facts which are logically related. This, indeed, is just what scientific
organization means, and the main purpose of such organization is to
render facts more available, to save labor. The memory is relieved of
much of its burden when once we have established the relationship
of cause and effect, of equivalence, of similarity, or of analogy
among facts. It is this association of ideas on a logical basis which
counts most in the possibility of recall.
It is quite possible for children, very early in their school life, to
begin to apply these principles and to become conscious of the fact
that the way they do their work has an important bearing upon the
ease with which it is accomplished and the permanency of the
results gained. The work of the teacher is not done by merely
dictating the method, even though that may help greatly to establish
right habits of study; our best assurance that the method will be
employed when the teacher is not present to direct the work is found
in our knowledge that the children not only habitually, but also when
a question arises or there is a suggestion of another way,
consciously employ the right method.
Teaching children how to form habits: Our next problem is to
inquire how children may be led consciously to employ the principles
of habit formation when their school work involves work of this type.
They can be taught the function of drill or repetition, and can be led
to see under what conditions such work will prove most successful. It
is not difficult to prove to a boy that his listless, half-hearted work in
repeating the spelling of the words he has missed is making little
improvement in his ability to spell them. A boy can be led to see by
an illustration in which he himself is the chief actor that concentrated
attention will make much difference. Let him see how much he can
accomplish in ten minutes, and thus get him in the habit of using this
means when he finds that he is not working up to his normal
capacity. Show him that a new impetus will be given and that
attention will be easier if he reverses the order, writes instead of
spelling orally, or closes his eyes and attempts to visualize the
words. No matter what motive the boy has for the attempt he is
making, he will welcome the suggestions which make the task
easier.
Later you can teach this same boy the need of verification before
drilling himself whenever a question of fact is raised. In the
beginning, of course, the doubt or question will be raised by the
teacher, and it will be the chief work of the child to find an authority
and assure himself that he has the right idea or form before
proceeding. A big step in the education of a child has been taken
when he is able to say, “I know I am right, because I have consulted
the commonly accepted authority.” Occasions will arise constantly in
the study of any subject where, instead of asking the teacher or
being satisfied with information which is of questionable validity, the
child should, as a matter of habit, turn to the authority for verification.
It is not at all unusual for children to have misgivings, but they too
frequently end by going ahead and ignoring their doubt. To respect
one’s doubts, to be somewhat critical, is significant for education
only when one is led thereby to endeavor to discover the truth.
Children will work to advantage when they realize that these steps of
doubt, verification, repetition, with undivided attention, are essential
to good work.
Children can be taught the necessity of accuracy in practice. Any
day’s work in a schoolroom will furnish illustrations of the danger of
lapses and the necessity of guarding against them. The fallacy of the
notion that “this one doesn’t count” can be made just as clear to
children as to adults. So, too, the mistaken notion that cramming
may be substituted for systematic work day in and day out can be
brought to the attention of pupils.
It would be a good plan for every teacher to ask herself questions
like the following: “What would the children do if I did not carefully
direct their work?” “How much better able are they now to work
independently than they were at the beginning of the year?” “Can
they take a book and find in it the part which bears upon the topic
assigned for study, and do they do it with the least possible waste of
time and energy?” “Do they know how to memorize; what it means to
concentrate their attention; how to reflect?” “Are they more open-
minded or more dogmatic on account of the year spent with me?”
“Have they established the habit of verification?” “Do they appreciate
the method to be employed in habit formation?” To answer these
questions honestly will give the teacher some idea of her success as
a teacher, for the teacher’s goal is realized in proportion as her
pupils have advanced in power to work independently of her
guidance or control.
In teaching children how to study, it will be well to devote whole
periods to this type of exercise. The teacher will gain much in the
progress which her class will make by taking a period frequently
during which she studies with the children. By example rather than
by precept, by guiding children in correct methods of study and then
making them conscious that they have done their work to the best
possible advantage, rather than by telling them what to do, she will
secure the maximum of results in her endeavor to teach children
how to study.
For Collateral Reading

F. M. McMurry, How to Study.
Lida B. Earhart, Teaching Children to Study, Chapter VIII.
Exercises.
1. What is the relation between a knowledge of the principles of teaching and
the attempt to teach children how to study?
2. How would you teach a boy to study his spelling lesson?
3. What exercises would you give your pupils to make them able to use books to
the best advantage?
4. State five problems which you have assigned to your pupils which seem to
you to have furnished a sufficient motive for study.
5. Which would be better as an assignment for a class in history: “Study the
topic of slavery for to-morrow”; or, “Try to find out why slaves were not kept in the
Northern states”; or, “Did all of the people in the Northern states believe that
slavery should be abolished?”
6. What is the advantage in individual or group assignments? Give a list of such
assignments which you have recently given to your class.
7. Why is it necessary in studying to restate the problem under consideration at
frequent intervals?
8. When children study, should they try to remember all that they read in their
books?
9. Is it wise to have children critical of each other’s contributions during a
recitation?
10. How could you hope to train children to discriminate between the material of
greater and of less importance when they read books to find the answers to their
problems?
11. What do you think of the success of a study period where ten problems are
given, each independent of the others?
12. How would you expect children to verify the conclusions which they reach in
solving their problems in geography, nature study, or arithmetic?
13. Take any poem of from four to ten stanzas, and have your pupils commit it to
memory as a whole by reading it over and discussing the thought as often as may
be necessary. Take another poem of equal length and of equal difficulty, according
to your judgment, and have them commit it to memory line by line and stanza by
stanza. (A good plan would be to take four stanzas for each test from the same
long poem.) Three weeks after each selection is learned, without suggesting to the
pupils that the selection is to be called for again, find out what part of each
selection can be recalled.
14. How could you teach your pupils that the repetitions which count when
studying a spelling lesson are the ones which are made with attention
concentrated upon the work in hand?
15. Is a study period in the schoolroom properly regarded as a rest period for
teachers and pupils?
16. Are the children you teach better able to get along without a teacher than
they were when they came to you? What evidence can you give to show that they
can work independently?
CHAPTER IX
R E V I E W O R E X A M I N AT I O N L E S S O N
The review or the examination, in so far as methods of teaching

are concerned, present the same problem. We seek by means of
exercises of this type to bring about a better organization of
knowledge, to test the efficiency of our work by finding out whether
or not pupils can, when put to the test, utilize the knowledge or
habits which we have labored to make available for them, whether
they are actuated by the ideals and purposes which we have sought
to inculcate, whether they do actually employ the most economical
methods of work when they meet a situation which challenges their
strength. It will be recognized at once that work of this sort is a part
of every recitation. But for our own satisfaction, and, possibly, in
order to meet the requirements which may be imposed by those
higher in authority, we may at times feel the need for a stated
exercise of this sort.
A review should mean a new view, a placing of facts in their true
relationship. It should mean a clearer view of the topic or the subject
which the children have been studying. It avails little to go over the
ground that has already been covered more rapidly. The purpose to
be accomplished is not to fix in mind a series of unrelated facts. In
our discussion of memory we had occasion to call attention to the
fact that recall of past experiences was conditioned by the number
and the quality of the associations which had been established. And
it is not simply a matter of recall. The use that we can make of a fact
depends upon our ability to relate it logically to other facts. It is quite
possible that a man of great native retentiveness might be able to
recall thousands of facts, and yet be stupid, utterly unable to do the
thinking required for effective action. To bring about such an
organization of ideas demands that from day to day the new facts or
principles that are learned be consciously related to the old. It will not
be economical to put off all reviewing until the end of the month, or
quarter, or term. The step taken in advance to-day can be properly
appreciated only when it is seen in relation to that which has gone
before; and the work of the past week or month will, in turn, by this
additional effort be seen in truer perspective.
There are, however, convenient units into which subjects naturally
divide themselves; and when one of these units has been
completed, it may be well to take a period or two for the express
purpose of review. We may then clear up any misconceptions, give a
chance for additional verification and application of the knowledge
thus far gained. It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the review
which really counts is one in which the teacher works with the
children, guides them and instructs them, rather than sits in
judgment over them. There is nothing more disastrous to the best
type of work than the idea on the part of children that the review
lesson is the teacher’s opportunity to ask catch questions, or to
overemphasize unimportant details. Children respond very quickly in
such a situation by their endeavor to cram, with little or no effort at
organization, all of the facts that they have been taught.
A convenient stimulus to the proper sort of review is found in the
requirement that pupils prepare an abstract or topical outline of the
ground which has been covered, and submit it, preferably from
memory, for class criticism and discussion. If the teacher asks
questions, she should be very careful to see that they are questions
of large scope which demand organization, or still better the
application of organized knowledge. This brings us to the problem of
testing.
The only adequate test of school education, as of all other
education, is action. The nearer we can in our tests reproduce the
conditions which will confront the child in actual life, the better. Not
that we can always have him actually present in the situation; but
when that is impossible, we can present for his consideration ideal
situations which correspond to those which he will later find. The
possibilities of presenting precisely the test which he will meet and is
meeting in life are, I believe, much greater than most examiners
suspect. We have discovered after many years that the best test of a
child’s ability to spell in the only situation in which he will ever need
to spell is to test him in that situation; i.e. by judging his ability in
writing words in connected discourse. The way to discover whether
one can speak or write grammatically is to listen to him speaking or
reading what he has written, and not to ask him to recite rules of
grammar. The only real test of a child’s ability to give adequate oral
expression to the story or poem is to see whether or not he can
make clear the thought and furnish enjoyment to others, preferably
to those who have not before heard the selection which he reads.
We can assure ourselves that we have awakened an interest in
literature and history, when we know that children read good books
other than those which we compel them to read. The success of
manual work, the time spent in art or music, ought certainly to be
measured by ability to make and to decorate, the singing of songs,
and the desire to hear music, or to see pictures. The more occasions
that can be found for the application of the arithmetic we teach in
actual measurements and computations which have real significance
to children, the better will children understand their work, and the
more certain we can be of their future efficiency.[13] It is coming to be
a recognized principle of nature study that the common things, the
animals and plants which are significant for our living, are the ones
which should engage our attention; and we expect that children will,
on account of the teaching, enjoy more, take better care of, and
utilize to better advantage the plant and animal life with which they
come in contact. Even in such subjects as history and geography,
one can hope to find just such applications while the child is studying
as are apt to occur in his later life. The presentation of the results of
the study of a country to a school assembly with the aid of pictures
and a lantern, or the interpretation of current events in the light of
their geographic setting will afford no mean test of the children’s
knowledge of geography. The comparison of to-day’s happenings in
the light of the events of a decade or a century ago; the explanation
of the historical reference in the period devoted to literature; the
writing and presentation of a historical drama, will afford as great
application of one’s knowledge as most of us ever make.
Work of the sort indicated above will not only serve to test the
value of the work that children have done, but will also add greatly to
the interest and enthusiasm with which children do their work. We
can scarcely hope that all examinations will satisfy this ideal; but of
this we can be sure, the more work of this kind we do with our pupils,
the firmer will be their grasp upon their work and the greater is apt to
be their power to satisfy even less adequate tests.
Examinations have another function which we as teachers should
not overlook. Any adequate test of children’s abilities is also a test of
our teaching. It will probably not be best for us to try to defend
ourselves by pleading the inadequacy of the test, nor the
backwardness of the pupils when they come to us, nor their
parentage, nor any other less common reason. If children do not
write as well as they should, if they misspell words they commonly
use in their written work, if they cannot tell the story, recite the poem,
solve the problem, describe the geographical area, or relate the
events of the historic period, we had better inquire whether we have
helped them to work to best advantage, whether we have clearly
differentiated the several aspects of our work and have then applied
the methods suitable to accomplish the desired result. There may be
mistakes made, but, all things else being equal, the teacher who
gets results is the best teacher.
We shall do better work, children, teachers, and supervisors, when
we have provided for our use more definite standards or scales by
which to measure our results. There is no reason why we should not
have a scale which would enable us to tell with a fair degree of
accuracy just what the standing of this group of children is in writing,
in ability to perform the fundamental operations in arithmetic, in
spelling, in writing compositions, in discussing the geography of
North America, in decorating a cover for a notebook, or in any other
subject or aspect of their school work. Beginnings have been made
in this direction, and we may hope for more as time passes.[14] As
these units of measure are perfected and applied in examining the
results of school work, we will, of course, hear the cry of those who
will tell us that the best things that a teacher does cannot be
measured. The obvious reply will be that efficiency in accomplishing
results which can be measured need not in any way prevent a
teacher from exercising that influence or doing that sort of work
which is not recorded on examination sheets. Rather it will be found,
I venture, that the efficient teachers, as measured by the results
which we can test, are, on the whole, the teachers that are doing the
noblest work. Strength of personality, appreciation of child nature, a
life which by its example makes for truth and beauty in other lives,
are qualities not uncommon in the teacher who is glad to be judged
by the results which pupils can demonstrate.
For Collateral Reading

W. C. Bagley, The Educative Process, Chapter XXII.
W. W. Charters, Methods of Teaching, Chapter XI.
Exercises.
1. What is the purpose of an examination?
2. Would you be willing, in a review of a large topic in history, to demand fewer
details than in the original study of the topic?
3. What is the value of an outline prepared by pupils as a part of their review
work?
4. Which is the better test of a boy’s ability in English, a high mark in an
examination in grammar, or a well written story of a fishing trip written for a school
paper?
5. Prepare a series of questions which you think might be used to advantage in
the examination of a class that has been studying the geography of Europe.
6. Give as many illustrations as you can of the application of the knowledge
gained in school to situations in which the pupils use their information or skill to
satisfy needs comparable to those which one meets in everyday life.
7. What is meant by saying that a review should mean a new view?
8. Do children commonly fail in examinations when they have been well taught?
9. Should children be promoted solely upon the marks made in examinations?
10. A boy’s average in an examination was 67 per cent. An examination of the
marks he received showed the following results: geography 80 per cent, history
100 per cent, composition 80 per cent, spelling 70 per cent, arithmetic 40 per cent,
grammar 40 per cent, and drawing 60 per cent. The passing mark was 70 per
cent; would you have promoted the boy?
11. How often should reviews be conducted?
12. Should children be notified in advance that examinations will be held on
certain days or weeks of the term?
CHAPTER X
T H E R E C I TAT I O N L E S S O N
The recitation lesson as commonly conducted consists in having

children tell what they have read in their textbooks. Sometimes the
teacher accepts or even demands that the pupils recite by repeating
the words of the book. Better teaching requires rather that they
render the thought of the author in their own language. In this
chapter we shall discuss some of the worthy ends which may be
accomplished by such an exercise, some of the common
deficiencies in work of this type, and the modifications which are
advisable in the light of the principles already enunciated.
The recitation lesson commonly tests the pupil’s memory for facts.
The questions asked and answered serve to reveal to the teacher
the knowledge or lack of it on the part of the pupil. In a way this
testing also gives the teacher some idea of the amount of work done
by the pupil. The great weakness of work of this kind is found in the
tendency to demand and to accept words, the rehearsing of facts
unrelated and unorganized. Of course this need not be true, since it
is entirely within the power of the teacher to frame her questions in
such a way that the pupil’s grasp on the whole topic rather than his
memory for isolated facts is tested.
The recitation which tests the pupil’s ability to present in orderly
fashion the substance of the thought found in the sections assigned
in the book for study is of genuine value. The topical recitation
affords an opportunity to develop on the part of children the ability to
stand on their feet and speak to a question for some minutes. And it
may be suggested in this connection that we should develop more
power of this sort than is commonly found in our schools. The ability
to express one’s self adequately on the topic under consideration will
always make for effectiveness in social life. It would be well to test
the progress of our pupils from grade to grade by their ability to
speak more effectively and for a longer period as they advance
through the school, on some topic connected with their school work.
When pupils are required not simply to recite on some topic which
is presented for their consideration, but are required to furnish their
own outline and to recite on the basis of their own organization of the
selections which they have read, the recitation may become a
valuable exercise in thinking. The success of work of this kind will
depend upon the definiteness with which the problem or aim of the
work has been provided. It will not require much thought simply to
follow the paragraph headings or marginal notes of the author and to
present the organization as a basis for recitation. If, however, a
problem has been suggested the solution of which may be found in
the pages assigned for study, then the recitation may test the pupil’s
power to analyze and organize the material which the book provides.
And this is the only test of a thorough mastery of the book. We do
not read to find out everything that an author says. Our needs may
demand a very different ordering of facts, we may use facts in
entirely new relations, and may ignore much that was essential from
a different point of view. Children have read their textbooks
thoroughly when they have derived from these texts the facts or
ideas which are essential in the solution of their problem, the
satisfaction of the aim which they hope to realize.
This ability to use to best advantage a book is a very valuable
accomplishment. When the recitation lesson accomplishes this
result, it justifies its use. Too frequently we find adults who seem to
feel that they must try to gather all of the knowledge and must try to
follow none other than the author’s point of view in their reading.
These persons read one book, and, as a result, believe one theory. It
seems not to disturb them greatly that the next book they read takes
the opposite point of view and that they range themselves on that
side of the question. Books are, or at least ought to be, our servants,
not our masters, and in the handling of books in his regular school
work the child ought to come to realize their true function. There is
no greater proof of a lack of thought than the ready acceptance of
whatever one finds in print.
There is great danger in the use of textbooks that children and
teachers will become satisfied with words, that they will come to
think that the repetition of the formula of the textbook is proof of
knowledge. Textbooks are all too often merely books of texts. They
have been made frequently enough by those who possess a very
wide knowledge of the field in which they write; and by some strange
process of thought they have apparently reached the conclusion that
the way to make a subject simple is to condense it. Many of our most
used textbooks are merely summaries or outlines of the subject
treated. They lack richness of detail, and state conclusions instead of
furnishing a large number of experiences, from which one may,
through processes of logical thought, derive the generalizations of
the subject. Take, for example, most of the textbooks in history for
elementary schools, and read carefully upon any topic selected at
random, and then ask yourself just what these words mean to
twelve-year-old children; or, better still, ask these children who
repeat so glibly the words or reproduce the statements of the book
just what they mean by the words they use. Try to discover whether
they have any adequate knowledge of facts, or any command of
images, which would make possible the generalizations which they
give as a result of the process of thought. Remember that a textbook
is not logical for children because it has been logically arranged by
the scholar. The test is rather to be found in the pupil’s ability to
reproduce in his own thinking the steps which have made possible
the conclusions of the author.
Any wide-awake teacher can make her work more interesting and
more significant for children, if she will carefully provide for the
enrichment of the text. The sources from which data can be
gathered, regardless of the subject under consideration, are almost
without number. Especially to be recommended are the standard
works in the subjects. It will be interesting to discover that children
would rather read Parkman than to study the text in which some less
competent person has endeavored to tell his story in a few
paragraphs which mean absolutely nothing to the child. The
magazines which publish articles of wide social interest will furnish
much helpful material. There is no school that may not greatly enrich
its work by an appeal to the actual experiences of the children and
by carefully directed observations and experiments. We need our
textbooks as a summary, as a convenient condensed outline, or as
books of reference; but we must provide as best we can other books
of reference which will furnish the details which are impossible in the
limited number of pages allowed to the text. In every room of every
school a library of books, pamphlets, magazine articles, and
illustrative material should be found, and every teacher should
expect to increase this collection and to improve its quality as the
years go by.
It will give new meaning to notebooks and note-taking, if both
teacher and children realize that the books thus prepared are a real
addition to the texts used. A comparison of the work done by
different members of the class will add interest in the work. One of
the greatest deficiencies of the recitation lesson is the danger that
nothing new will be presented. It is not intellectually stimulating to
listen to others who repeat simply the thought with which you are
already familiar. Where good notebook work is done and reported
upon, the chance for new ideas, the stimulus to thought, through the
presentation of new material, will greatly strengthen the work.
A tendency in work of this type to accept vague and indefinite
answers is another argument against the recitation lesson which
consists merely in rehearsing the words of the book. Statements are
apt to be vague when ideas are vague, and we may not expect ideas
to be very clear when the child lacks experience. The child’s power
of expression, aside from the difference in original talent in this
direction, is conditioned first of all by his acquaintance with things
and processes. The recitation lesson, as it is ordinarily conducted,
gives little opportunity for this sort of firsthand knowledge. To work at
the sand table, to construct with wood, clay, paper, or yarn, to
experiment, and to observe carefully the working of nature may
mean more for the command of language than much more time
devoted to so-called language lessons. But the effective use of such

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(eBook PDF) Numerical Methods, 4th

Edition by J. Douglas Faires

4 Numerical Integration and Differentiation 107

5 Numerical Solution of Initial-Value Problems 173

6 Direct Methods for Solving Linear Systems 229

7 Iterative Methods for Solving Linear Systems 277

8 Approximation Theory 321

9 Approximating Eigenvalues 363

10 Systems of Nonlinear Equations 413

11 Boundary-Value Problems for Ordinary

12 Numerical Methods for Partial-Differential

About the Text

New for this Edition

Possible Course Suggestions

Chapter 2 Chapter 6 Chapter 3

Chapter 10 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

• John Carroll–Dublin City University

In addition, we would like to thank the faculty of the Department of Mathematics at

1.2 Review of Calculus

Continuity and Sequence Convergence

lim f (xn ) = f (x0 ).

exists. The number f (x0 ) is called the derivative of f at x0 . The derivative of f at x0 is

The tangent line has slope f (x0)

A function that has a derivative at each number in a set X is differentiable on X .

Differentiability Implies Continuity

Mean Value Theorem

Extreme Value Theorem

f (x) = 5 cos 2x − 2x sin 2x

on the intervals (a) [1, 2], and (b) [0.5, 1].

Inline function: f (x) = 5 ∗ cos(2 ∗ x) − 2 ∗ x ∗ sin(2 ∗ x)

f (x) = −12 sin 2x − 4x cos 2x.

The result from MATLAB is

We can increase the number of digits of display with the command

Then the command

and MATLAB responds with

ans = −3.899329036387075, ans = −0.241008123086347

and MATLAB responds with

Evaluating f at this single critical point with

f (1.358229873843064) = −5.675301337592883 and f (2) = −0.241008123086347.

f (0.5) = 5 cos 1 − 1 sin 1 = 1.860040544532602 and

MATLAB returns the response

??? Error using ==> fzero at 293

f (1) = −3.899329036387075 and f (0.5) = 1.860040544532602.

Intermediate Value Theorem

Example 2 Show that x 5 − 2x 3 + 3x 2 − 1 = 0 has a solution in the interval [0, 1].

where the numbers x0 , x1 , . . . , xn satisfy a = x0 < x1 < · · · < xn = b and where

where the numbers shown in Figure 1.6 as xi are xi = a + (i(b − a)/n).

a x0 x1 x2 . . . x i1 x i ... x n1 b x n x

Mean Value Theorem for Integrals

(See Figure 1.7.)

Taylor Polynomials and Series

f (x) = Pn (x) + Rn (x),

In winter I get up at night

I have to go to bed and see

And does it not seem hard to you,

For Collateral Reading

The review or the examination, in so far as methods of teaching

For Collateral Reading

The recitation lesson as commonly conducted consists in having

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